Investing.com - Shares in Asia were mixed on Wednesday with investors looking ahead to China PMI data this week and taking note of regional data in Japan and Australia.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.79% as Japan reported industrial production for July provisionally was flat month-on-month, compared with a 0.8% gain seen. The government said it expects rebound of 4.1% in August wand a 0.7% decline in September as output flows fluctuate.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.07% with Australia reporting private sector credit for July gained 0.4% as expected month-on-month. Housing credit rose 0.5%, unchanged from June.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.07%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was 0.08% higher.
The yuan was slightly higher Wednesday even though the People's Bank of China weakened the fixing at 6.6908 against the greenback compared with the official closing price of 6.6800 on Tuesday.
U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Tuesday, as losses in the Utilities, Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.26%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.20%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.18%.
According to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool, investors are pricing in a 24% chance of a rate hike by September.